Hiking in Fagaras mountains

Wednesday January 13th, 2010

Between 20 and 27 June 2009, I was happy to organize one of my favorite hikes in Romanian mountains, the traverse of Bucegi and Fagaras mountains.
The tour start with the traverse of Bucegi mountains, Sunday June 20th, from Babele hut to Omu peak, and down to Moeciu de Sus village. The rest of the tour were in Fagaras mountains, traversing the main ridge of Fagaras mountains from Breaza village (Zarna shelter) to Avrig town (Barcaciu chalet). I can’t say that the weather were the best in the world, but the tour were a nice one, and the company of Eran was very instructive and very nice. We slept on Zarna and Vistea Mare huts, and the other 3 nights in Podragu, Balea Lac and Negoiu chalets. Traversing the main ridge of Fagaras in this period is a very nice tour, very little people on the ridge, but a lot of flowers. Anyway, traversing Fagaras ridge on this period require a good preparation and good equipment, otherwise the hike can have a bad end. Of course, we had all what we need, so the tour was a success!
Below you may find some pictures from this tour.Iulian Cozma, from Padina chalet in Bucegi mountains – June 29th, 2009

I had the pleasure of engaging Iulian as a guide for a backpacking trip in the Bucegi and Fagaras mountains in June 2009. From the pick up at the airport, until the drop off in Bucharest the service was flawless, and included everything that had been promised. The trip started with a ‘warm up’ day in the Bucegi mountains, which are smaller than Fagaras but also quite nice. We started early, and overall had an excellent day, including an added trip to Bran castle which was not in the original plan. The main part of the trip was a six day crossing of the Fagaras range, staying in mountain refuges and in some of the well equipped huts on the way. The logistic organization of this part was excellent, at some point Iulian arranged for our backpacks to be collected to allow us to do the last two days with day packs only. After four days of carrying a full backpack this was a real treat. Iulian knows these mountains inside and out, and can be completely trusted to lead the way in a safe manner. He is also a very friendly person and very knowledgable about Romania in general and we had quite long conversations in the days we spent together. At the end of the Fagaras crossing we spent the night at Iulian’s grandmother’s house in the village of Ucea de Sus. Like him, his family is very welcoming, and guests are made to feel at home, not to mention the excellent dinner ! Ucea is a traditional Romanian village and a visit there affords a view of Romanian countryside life normally not available to regular tourists, and so is one of the highlights of the trip. Iulilan also included a few small extras at no extra cost, like a side trip to Sibiu at the end of the trip.
In short, I can recommend Iulian as a very knowledgable, friendly and service oriented guide, who will do his utmost that you get the most out of your trip.Highly recommended ! Eran Wieder – London, UK – June 2009